Prior to the EBU becoming a limited company, Sussex and other counties appointed delegates to the EBU Council which met quarterly, the numbers of delegates being related to the EBU membership in each county. Sussex used to have four delegates, but this was reduced to three earlier in the noughties.

After the EBU became a limited company, with a Board of Directors, the delegates became shareholders (with no financial involvement or commitment). The three Sussex shareholders, appointed by the SCCBA committee, and subject to members' approval at each AGM, are currently (in alphabetical order) Peter Bates, Joy Mayall and Dick Wheeler.

Following the changes in governance that have taken place in recent years, and the introduction of P2P, the EBU are trying to open up lines of communication with all members in EBU-affiliated clubs. One topic open to consultation with all members last year was 'Representation and Voting'. Full details of the alternatives under consideration were circulated to all clubs in Sussex and responses considered by the committee before responding to the EBU in December 2010.

Both the EBU and SCCBA are conscious of the need for their activities to be totally transparent to all members and this is part of the purpose of this article, which is also in response to points made at the 2010 and 2011 AGMs. Any SCCBA members who have queries on the role of the EBU, the role of the shareholders, or the relationship of SCCBA with both clubs and the EBU, should please feel free to contact one of the shareholders at any time, and we will do our best to answer or respond as best we can.

Peter Clinch (07515 333539)

Joy Mayall (01444 458485)

Dick Wheeler (01903 691566)